April 04, 2013, 3:21PM

A discussion on the Crescent City Connection tolls takes center stage at an Algiers meeting Thursday night (April 4) sponsored by the Alliance for Citizen Engagement. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at Aurora Swim and Tennis Club, 5244 Gen. Meyer Ave. Representatives on both sides of the toll issue, including Stop the Tolls, the Algiers Economic Development Foundation and... Full story »

April 04, 2013, 12:06PM

Gretna voters will elect a new mayor for the first time in 28 years Saturday in a campaign that began last fall on the city's biggest stage-- the Gretna Heritage Festival. Council members Belinda Constant and Vincent Cox started bearing their colors and touting their candidacies at the October event, which draws tens of thousands to downtown. The winner... Full story »

April 04, 2013, 9:52AM

The Kenner Professional Business Association and the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce have endorsed Mayor Mike Yenni's $47 million proposal to refinance municipal debt and spend $28.6 million on sprucing up major streets and intersections. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the first piece of the plan Thursday evening (April 4), although two council members said they want to... Full story »

April 03, 2013, 8:23PM

Lawmakers raised concerns over school vouchers funding and the loosening of restrictions on public education money during a nearly eight-hour budget meeting Wednesday. The House Appropriations Committee also questioned Superintendent John White over his department's consistent budget surpluses. MFP FORMULA COULD BE CHALLENGED IN LEGISLATURE Until this year, it was required that 70 percent of public school funds allocated... Full story »

April 03, 2013, 5:23PM

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, Wednesday became the first announced Republican challenger for Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., in 2014. But there's likely to be others, including his conservative congressional colleague and fellow physician, Rep. John Fleming of Minden. Over the next 19 months, Louisiana will have a courtside seat for what likely will be one of the... Full story »

April 03, 2013, 5:00PM

Guns have killed more people per capita in Louisiana than in any other state over the last 10 years, a nationwide study released Wednesday said, prompting local leaders to call on U.S. Sens. Mary Landrieu and David Vitter to vote for more stringent federal gun-control legislation. "America Under the Gun," a report by the left-leaning Washington, D.C. think tank... Full story »

April 03, 2013, 4:15PM

With the prospect of having to pay millions next year to reform the city's jail and police department, Mayor Mitch Landrieu laid out his legislative agenda Wednesday with a predictable focus on ways to cut costs and increase confidence in city government. The mayor outlined his top priorities for the session starting April 8: reforming the governance of the... Full story »

April 03, 2013, 3:22PM

Kenner Police Chief Steve Caraway wants a No. 2, a deputy chief to run the department in his absence. He will ask the City Council to create the new position Thursday (April 4). It's a Civil Service job allowed by a state law that the Legislature approved in 2010. But unlike other positions in the Kenner Police Department, the deputy... Full story »

April 03, 2013, 1:56PM

House Speaker Chuck Kleckley said lawmakers will rely on numbers provided by legislative staff, and not those put forward by the administration, when gauging the effects of Gov. Bobby Jindal's tax swap proposal. But without "accurate" numbers about the proposal, lawmakers cannot begin debating the merits of the plan, Kleckley said. "There's so many confusing, so many conflicting stories... Full story »